Meet the Member: Jim Whiteley
Can you give us a brief tennis and life history of Jim Whiteley?
Tennis was introduced to me when I was in 7th grade in Cleveland. An 18-year-old neighborhood kid knew how to play and volunteered to teach me. There were clay courts at the park by the end of the summer I played tournaments (lost, of course). In high school, I made tennis team, but my grades were so bad that I never played a match. I also tried out for the basketball team and the same happened. In the spring when I tried out for baseball the coach had already heard about me and didn’t let me play. I had a girlfriend, motorcycle, and hot rod so I was only a part-time student.
We never thought about college (and my high school performance wouldn’t impress any colleges) so I began working for the airlines. At 18-years-old (with a 17-year-old wife) I started as a cargo handler with Capital Airlines getting paid $1.23/hr. I always wanted to fly and when I watched another cargo handler get his degree and become a pilot, I decided to do the same. I bought a 1947 Aeronca Chief side-by-side to learn how to fly and build up time. I took private lessons and went flying every day. I would split shifts with a TWA agent which would allow me to fly in the afternoon.
Pilots were always very encouraging to me, and one gave me an original pair of Ray Ban sunglasses, which I still have.
Eventually I moved my whole family west and raised them in the Manhattan beach area. I later left TWA, got divorced, and worked for Piper Aircraft Distributer for California, Nevada, and Hawaii. In 1959, I was sent to Honolulu to manage the flying service. It was a flight school and charter service. I flew lots of sightseeing trips to see two volcanoes. Aloha Airlines hired me as a DC-3 Co-Pilot in 1960 from January to September when the new guys got laid off for winter. I got hired as a mapping pilot and did that for two companies. I married Diane and I was hired with a large company in Santa Barbara, so we moved back to California. United Airlines came up looking for pilots, so I was lucky enough to start a 30-year career. That was 1964, and I was based in Los Angeles. I saw there were lots of employee golf tournaments, but no tennis tournaments. I started a United Airlines tennis tournament in Englewood, CA. Sixty-five guys showed up, and from then on, it was an annual tournament. Each year it would rotate locations and tournament directors, and it continued on for 25 years.
We lived in Thousand Oaks/Long Beach area for many years, but then our youngest son Cliff wanted to become a ski racer. I loved skiing as well and was the captain of the ski team, so we moved to Squaw Valley. He was ranked as a tennis player and swimmer in southern California, but we were looking for ski program for kids. My oldest sons had graduated and moved to Park City, but that wasn’t the best program for younger kids. Squaw had three programs for kids so that’s where we went. He was in school part of day and skiing part of the day, but we felt like he wasn’t learning anything. We didn’t think he would make it to college this way, so we moved to Vermont. We found house a house on a hill in Vermont where he could walk to school. We kept the house in Squaw and would come back every summer. We spent three school years in Vermont and when he graduated from the ski racing academy, UNR gave him a scholarship. We sold our place in Vermont, bought a house across from the university, and moved back to Squaw Valley and Reno.
What WTC activities to do you enjoy?
When I first came down to play at Washoe, I played with Kenny Sipkens. We have many pictures in my home that he painted (one is attached). Kenny was a great friend.
At Washoe, the drop-in group at 8:00 in the morning is the best thing at the club. There is a group that comes at 9:00 as well and we can get around 12 players sometimes. Every morning, we have a least four and many times we have eight.
What is another favorite hobby other than tennis?
I love flying, sailing, boating, motorcycles with side cars, and I am a car collector. I have a total of six cars.
I’ve been a member of the Sheriff’s Search and Rescue for Washoe County for 25 years. They won’t let me retire, so now I’m on the advisory board.
Who is your favorite professional tennis player? Why?
Pancho Gonzalez was my tennis hero. He won the US Open when he was 49 years old. He had a tennis camp in Malibu, and we would take the kids from our tennis club and play against the kids at his tennis club. I watched him play in LA against Kenny Rosewald and Rod Laver at the Beverly Hills hotel for an exhibition match.
Any fun plans for the winter?
I ski at Palisades or Diamond Peak. When you are over 80, you ski for free with no black-out dates.
Can you tell us about your family, occupation, pets, etc.?
I have three boys (Richard, John, and Cliff) – two that live in Park City, and one that lives here – and a daughter in San Diego.
We have a wonderful family reunion every year that just gets bigger and bigger. I’ll turn 92 this January, and my sons will be coming in from Park City to celebrate. We will have breakfast with our 8:00 tennis group (at some point) to celebrate Buzz Ruby and my birthdays.
